Proposed and sponsored by Sherry Blenden, DVM, a new Gaited Horse Year End Award was approved by the board of directors on May 14, 2019. Many thanks to Sherry for recognizing that gaited horses are bred for distance, have a distinguished history in distance events, and deserve distinct recognition.
Per OCTRA standards, a minimum of two (2) Gaited Horses would need to compete each year for the award to be active. A “Gaited Horse” is defined as a horse, pony, or mule that has a 4-beat intermediate gait, or a 2-beat pace in-place of, or in-addition to, the standard 2-beat trot. When registering a horse for the rewards program the owner needs to indicate if the horse is gaited as defined above. This can be determined in 2 ways:
- Submission of breed papers of the listed breeds (see below). Additionally should a member propose a non-listed breed is indeed a “Gaited Horse” and wish the breed to be included, they can submit the written official breed standard of the organization that identifies the characteristic gait of the breed. As not all horses of the listed breeds are gaited (ie 3-gaited Saddlebreds or Standardbred Trotters) by officially identifying their horse as gaited, the owner confirms that the named horse does indeed perform a 4-beat intermediate gait or 2-beat pace.
- A grade or non-registered gaited horse may be self-identified by the owner as a “Gaited Horse”. However, should this be questioned, in writing to the board, by another OCTRA member or OCTRA official, a verification video should be submitted clearly showing the said horse performing a 4-beat intermediate gait or a 2-beat pace.
Alternatively, an OCTRA ride veterinarian can also verify that the said horse performs the stated gait, this can be done by the ride veterinarian signing a brief statement, preferably written and provided by the owner, stating that the veterinarian has observed the named horse performing a 4-beat intermediate gait or 2-beat pace.
Included breeds:
- American Saddlebred
- Florida Cracker Horse
- Icelandic Horse
- Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse
- Mangalarga Marchador
- Missouri Fox Trotter
- North American Single Footing Horse
- Paso Fino
- Peruvian Horse (Peruvian Paso)
- Racking Horse
- Rocky Mountain Horse
- Spotted Saddle Horse
- Standardbred
- Tennessee Walking Horse
Reminder: All horses must be enrolled with OCTRA to be eligible for equine year end awards. Your horse is enrolled for year end awards if one of the following fees have been paid:
- The one-time Distance Rewards Program fee for equines (before 2019); or,
- The one-time $30 Equine Enrollment fee starting in the 2019 season.
The Online Equine Enrollment Form is here: https://octra.on.ca/octra-online-equine-enrollment/